Optyl's luxury brand, Serge Kirchhofer, was the personal playground of the creative director for Viennaline and Carrera; the controversial Udo Proksch. In his own words: “Serge Kirchhofer ist Udo” and even his passport carried the Serge Kirchhofer name. Described by Udo as a cross between Salvador Dali and Christian Dior, the collections were an inspired marriage of the surreal with the classic and his perfectionism touched every detail, from product to packaging and photography.

The ‘enfant terrible’ of eyewear, Udo was a creative, obsessive, and highly troubled individual. His personal life is a matter of record and we leave it to the books and films already made to tell that story. We celebrate the creative genius here.